California Baptist University
7-11,1-4WAC
Utah Valley
6-12,2-4WAC
Lancers Pull Out Improbable WAC Comeback
10/12/2019 3:11:00 PM | Women's Volleyball
Marks finished with a match-high 18 kills on a .342 hitting percentage (18-5-38) against a Wolverines team that finished runner-up in the Western Athletic Conference last season. Utah Valley earned a berth to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) in 2018, as did CBU, after it took second in the WAC. The Wolverines are picked to finish second in the league again this year and even received three first-place votes in the WAC's preseason poll.
🎉 VICTORY 🎉
— CBU Volleyball (@CBUvolleyball) October 12, 2019
CBU overcomes a 2-0 deficit to defeat Utah Valley on the road in five sets. Sydney Marks kills the winner for her 18th kill of the day!#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/D0gzCeAXIv
Eleven blocks and six aces helped CBU separate itself from Utah Valley. Ellie Voss had a match and career-high seven block, along with a personal-best nine kills. Marks and Yagoda Jedrzejczak each had four blocks, as well.
💪💪💪
— CBU Volleyball (@CBUvolleyball) October 12, 2019
Ellie Voss had this kill, but Nicole Abreu came up big in this rally, with two very impressive digs for CBU.#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/6Q4I3VpgWT
Elizabeth Gilley and Hana Okuhara highlighted the Lancers' prowess at the service line, with three and two aces, respectively. Okuhara completed her third double-double of the year with 25 assists and 12 digs.
🎴🎴
— CBU Volleyball (@CBUvolleyball) October 12, 2019
Hana Okuhara drops in back-to-back aces to start CBU on a big run in set three.#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/qWTCXxLzj3
Nicole Abreu had a match-high 16 digs, while Cassidy Dennison had 15 digs and seven kills, as well.
👏👏👏
— CBU Volleyball (@CBUvolleyball) October 12, 2019
Two HUGE kills from Megan Sester and Yagoda Jedrzejczak help CBU close out a 25-18 win in set three.#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/jg6R3BYdE7
After back-to-back losses to start the match, CBU turned things around in set three. The Lancers hit .316 in the game (16-4-38), with Marks going off for six kills, while Okuhara had eight assists and two aces. They only got better in set four, posting a sideout percentage of 69 (9-13) and hitting .385. Marks had five errorless kills and Gilley had all three of her aces in the fourth set.
Elizabeth Gilley takes down Utah Valley's libero with this ace.#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/0cXBTpbC5W
— CBU Volleyball (@CBUvolleyball) October 12, 2019
Indicative of the entire match, set five was back and fourth. CBU jumped out to a 5-2 lead, but Utah Valley responded with a 6-0 run to take an 8-5 edge.
The Lancers swung right back and took a 12-8 lead with a 7-0 run sparked with Jedrzejczak at the service line. Graf had two kills, while Voss had a kill and a block assist in that span. The Wolverines clawed right back, though, and tied the match at 12-12.
CBU is on a 4⃣➖0⃣ run, as a Yagoda Jedrzejczak notches an ace to give the Lancers a 9⃣➖8⃣ lead in set five.#LanceUp⚔ pic.twitter.com/xShBFhggY1
— CBU Volleyball (@CBUvolleyball) October 12, 2019
Graf gave CBU sideout with a big kill, and a ball-handling error gave the Lancers match point, up 14-12. UVU threatened to force overtime, but a powerful kill from Marks ended the set at 15-13.
With momentum on its side, the Lancers now travel to Seattle U for another WAC match Monday at 6 p.m. CBU improved to 8-10 and 2-3 in conference, while UVU dropped to 6-12, 3-3.
